[2020 National Audit] Seoul City's 'Room Splitting' Correction Rate at 2% This Year... "Fundamental Measures Needed"

Seoul City Illegal Partitioned Buildings Violation Correction Rate Drops from 11% in 2016 to 2.39% in August 2020
Correction Rate Declines Despite Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Crackdown Order in February
Reimposition Rate of Enforcement Fines Rises Annually "Fundamental Environmental Improvement Measures Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] The correction rate of illegal partitioned rooms ('Bangjjogaegi') in buildings within Seoul city remains minimal, prompting calls for fundamental measures to prevent and rectify such practices.

According to the 'Status of Illegal Buildings and Bangjjogaegi' submitted by Seoul City to Jang Kyung-tae, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the correction rate for Bangjjogaegi violations decreased annually from 11% in 2016 to 2.39% as of August 2020.

Looking at the status by Seoul's autonomous districts, when combining existing unremoved cases and newly detected cases, the highest numbers of violations were found in ▲Dongjak-gu with 105 cases ▲Nowon-gu with 81 cases ▲Gwanak-gu with 77 cases ▲Seodaemun-gu with 74 cases ▲Songpa-gu with 70 cases. The highest correction rate was in Seongbuk-gu at 15.73%, followed by Gwangjin-gu (13.64%), Gangdong-gu (5.41%), and Mapo-gu (5.26%).

Seoul, where university districts are densely concentrated, expressed difficulty in demolition even after imposing enforcement fines because current tenants are still residing in the properties. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also stated that landlords consider enforcement fines as taxes and continue to pay them, and that efforts are underway to establish measures to eradicate Bangjjogaegi, including strengthening enforcement fines.

In fact, from 2016 to 2019, cases where enforcement fines for Bangjjogaegi violations were imposed more than twice increased. While the number of first-time fines decreased each year, the number of re-imposed fines two or more times steadily rose.

Seoul City conducts regular inspections of illegal buildings 4 times a year with 3 to 5 inspectors. The shortage of enforcement personnel was also pointed out as one of the reasons why corrections have not been effectively implemented.

Assemblyman Jang emphasized, "First, a full survey of Bangjjogaegi should be conducted, especially in university areas, to closely examine hidden housing conditions and take more proactive administrative actions such as filing complaints. Particularly, local governments with dense university districts should assign permanent staff to strengthen preventive measures to ensure that no illegal buildings creating poor youth housing environments like Bangjjogaegi exist."

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jang and the Mindalpaengi Union conducted a survey on illegal buildings centered around Daehak-dong in Gwanak-gu. For an in-depth investigation, they entered buildings and rooms directly through two methods: direct transactions and brokerage transactions. They surveyed a total of 10 buildings and discovered three types of illegal building cases.

Among the 10 buildings, 2 had illegal building markings on the building register but had not been restored to their original state for nearly 10 years. Another 2 buildings were previously marked as illegal on the building register but had been deregistered. However, both were illegally extended and subdivided for rental purposes through Bangjjogaegi. Of the 10 buildings, 6 had no records of being detected as illegal buildings but were all illegally extended, reconstructed, or had unauthorized use changes. Notably, some facilities for the elderly and child-related facilities were subdivided through Bangjjogaegi and operated as one-room rentals.

Assemblyman Jang and the Mindalpaengi Union stated, "Many young tenants move in without knowing that the buildings are illegal, and neither landlords nor brokers disclose this information. This issue should not end with inspections and corrections; information such as precautions and coping methods regarding illegal buildings should be distributed at community centers or youth spaces, and this content should be included in continuing education for licensed real estate agents."